Chicago Streetcars in Color, Part 2

This is the second installment in our ongoing series featuring color pictures of Chicago streetcars. (You can read our earlier post here.)

As always, half the fun is trying to guess some of the locations where we do not have the information. I am always surprised at how knowledgeable and clever some of our readers are.

If you can help us out with some of the missing facts, please let us know. Each picture has an image number (for example, the first picture is #585) so please refer to the image numbers when discussing individual photographs. As always, you can bring up a larger version of each picture in your browser by clicking on it.

Unfortunately, we don’t know the names of the shutterbugs who took these pictures. When we do know who pushed the button, rest assured we will always give proper attribution to the photographer.

Enjoy.

-David Sadowski

Prewar PCCs 7019 and 4035 at 63rd and Damen on June 30, 1951.

CTA 3194 signed for Cottage Grove. According to Andre Kristopans, this car is “turning north off 115th onto St. Lawrence down in Pullman.”

CTA 302 at Chicago Avenue and Lake Shore Drive.

CTA 4014 on 63rd, having just crossed under the B&O, on February 17, 1951.

CTA 4408 on route 22.

Red cars 652 and 678 pass on Halsted near 74th.

CTA 144, now at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, is shown on one of those later fantrips after the end of red car service. The follower is a PCC, also part of the fantrip.

The date is September 17, 1949. CTA 4047, on route 63, is on Central, making a jog from 63rd Street to 63rd Place, before heading west on private right of way.

CTA 4168, on diversion trackage, heads west on Chicago Avenue, near the landmark Montgomery Wards Company Complex.

CTA 692 is on the Museum Loop near the Field Museum and Soldier Field.

CTA 6150 is signed for route 42 – Halsted Downtown.

CTA 6118, signed for route 42 – Halsted Downtown, heads north at Halsted and 75th.

CTA 6142 still wears a CSL logo, so this must be in the early CTA era, looking at some of the automobiles.

CTA 5320.

CTA 225, now preserved at seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine, is shown on one of those 1954-58 fantrips held after the end of red car service.

CTA 661 on Blue Island. Andre Kristopans says, “661 – WB just west of Blue island/Cermak/Ashland intersection. Note that “Jerry’s Grill” in the background was once a bank according to Stone above corner door!”

CTA 143, sister car to the 144 at IRM, is southbound on Halsted.

CTA 900 is signed for route 28 – Stony Island. Bob Lalich notes that the car “looks to be just south of 93rd St in the Stony Island median. You can see the pole line for the 93rd St line in the right background.”

According to Andre Kristopans, “CTA 697 is on Waveland between Broadway and Halsted, facing west.”

CTA 6142 still wears a CSL logo, so this must be in the early CTA era, looking at some of the automobiles.

CTA 637 heads west on private right of way on route 63. Looks like the second track has just ended.

Andre Kristopans says, “CTA 527 is in the Milwaukee/Imlay loop.”

A woman prepares to board CTA 229 at the Museum Loop on June 24, 1951.

Andre Kristopans says, “558 NB Ashland at Roosevelt. Note Roosevelt tracks are spread very wide as west of here was boulevard with car tracks in the service drives. Note also the church in background – still there. In distance is Burlington and CNW underpasses at 15th St.”

According to Andre Kristopans, “CTA 491 is coming into 63 Pl/Narragansett loop. The driveway to the right of the car is how the 65A-63rd/65th extension buses exited. Later this whole area was paved over for bus use, and recently over half of the property became the site of a branch library, leaving only a very small bus loop.”

CTA 248 at 63rd and Peoria in 1952.

Red cars 278 and 129 pass at Paulina and Van Buren on route 9 – Ashland. The old Marshfield “L” station is at rear.

CTA 248 at 63rd and Ashland in May 1953. Note the safety island.

Cars 269 and 1736 pass. One car is signed for route 52 – Kedzie; however, the slide says this is 2800 W. Chicago Avenue. The date is May 4, 1952. Andre Kristopans writes, “CTA 269 and 1736 are indeed at 2800 W Chicago Av. 52 cars used four blocks of Chicago to go between California and Kedzie. The left-hand turnoff to go north on California is right in front of 1736.”

Car 522, signed for route 56 – Milwaukee, passes 585. Andre Kristopans says, “The gas holder is the one at Augusta and Grand. This would make the most likely spot Milwaukee and Carpenter.”

CTA 229 on the Museum Loop at the east end of the Roosevelt Road car line.

Car 227 at Chicago and Michigan, passing by the historic Water Tower and pumping station.

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19 thoughts on “Chicago Streetcars in Color, Part 2”

I had happened to come across the “transportblog.co.nz” while searching for more information on the impending closure of the Wellington, NZ trackless trolley network. I noticed they also use the WordPress.com system as the CERA blog as well as this one uses. On posting a couple of messages on that site I noticed on posting them they allowed for a five minute countdown window during which one could go back and correct an error or add something in that five minute window. After the 5 minute period, there was no more editing. Question: is it possible to have that feature here? I suspect it is either a newer version or an available option with a higher cost perhaps. Thank you.

As the administrator of this blog, I have a “control panel” area where I can choose different options. However, none of them involve this, and we are already a “premium” blog, in the sense that it costs money and is not free. But nowhere do I see any option that would accomplish what you want.

However, as I have written to you before, as the admin I can edit people’s comments later, so if there is anything you would like to change, I can do that for you.

Other than that,I suggest you direct your inquiries directly to WordPress. Perhaps they can give you a better answer than I can.

CTA 697 is on Waveland between Broadway and Halsted, facing west.
CTA 527 is in the Milwaukee/Imlay loop
CTA 581 is about 200 feet south of Imlay loop, heading south
CTA 491 is coming into 63 Pl/Narragansett loop. The driveway to the right of the car is how the 65A-63rd/65th extension buses exited. Later this whole area was paved over for bus use, and recently over half of the property became the site of a branch library, leaving only a very small bus loop
CTA 269 and 1736 are indeed at 2800 W Chicago Av. 52 cars used four blocks of Chicago to go between California and Kedzie. The left-hand turnoff to go north on California is right in front of 1736

I don’t recall there being a gas holder at Augusta and Grand, which is more than 2 miles from Milwaukee Avenue. This is likely the one that was at Elston and Division. Here’s a photo of the area, Milwaukee is the diagonal street on the left.

558 NB Ashland at Roosevelt. Note Roosevelt tracks are spread very wide as west of here was boulevard with car tracks in the service drives. Note also the church in background – still there. In distance is Burlington and CNW underpasses at 15th St.

661 – WB just west of Blue island/Cermak/Ashland intersection. Note that “Jerry’s Grill” in the background was once a bank according to Stone above corner door!

Thanks for all your locations. There were a lot of banks that failed during the Depression. Every once in a while, my Dad would point one out while we were driving, and tell me how his family had lost money there.

CTA 6142 looks like it might, just might be on Lake Park somewhere. It looks like it’s route No. 28 which is the current Stony Island bus. I can’t quite find the right image for the exact location, but the styles and condition of the buildings look about right for pre-urban renewal Hyde Park.

6142 – I would suspect on Cottage Grove between Oakwood and 43rd. This style of building was common in that area (and still is, including at least one new building with a “witch’s hat” on the cormer at 41st!). Also, the fellow walking near the front of the car is black, which in the 1950’s would have been very odd in Hyde Park. Unfortunately, so many buildings in that stetch of Cottage are gone that it is impossible to say exactly.